The Territorial Tax Protests

The Quentinian Territorial Tax Protests were a series of protests in the Territories of Quentin from 1811-1813. The main cause of the protests were recent taxation from the Republic of Megatridimensional Order, with numerous taxes being enacted including the Citrus Trade Tax in 1807 and the Fish, Steak, and Pork Acts of 1809. The protests were extremely destructive and costly, with thousands of trios in damage. The most notable of these protests occurred in 1812, and managed to burn down the house of Order Territorial Minister Grimoire Revere. The Order Guard and the citizens were many times in conflict during the riots, with hundreds of people being killed over the 2 years in relation to the protests, and thousands more jailed. Widely condemned by the Megatridimensional government, the protests led directly to the Quentinian War for Independence, with the Territorial Assembly showing their support for these protests in 1811 by passing the Order of Non-Necessity, which limited the number of Order Guards in a city. The protests were the first instances of direct fighting between the Quentinian territories and the Order.

Background

The Territorial Tax Protests of 1811-1813 were caused mainly by the passage of numerous tax acts by the Senate of the Megatridimensional Order, against the territories of the country, which at the time only included the Territories of Quentin. The Territories of Quentin had numerous times applied for statehood, and were denied due to concerns of dispute with Telembria, which had a claim to the land on which the Territories of Quentin were settled. The Order had declared independence from Telembria a couple of decades before, and was a young country not willing to risk another fight with the nation over the territories. In 1803, the Territories negotiated a deal with the Order called the Bost Agreement, which gave the territories the right to self-government in the form of the Territorial Assembly. In 1805, citizens in the territorial cities of Mechanicsburg and Lindin again demanded statehood, marching on the streets and some even boycotting Megatridimensional goods. In response to these protests, and in need of funds, the Order government passed the Citrus Trade Tax in 1807 against the territories, which taxed fresh produce coming into the territories.

In 1809, still needing as much cash from the territories as possible, the Order government passed the Fish, Steak, and Pork Acts of 1809, which taxed meats coming into the territories, and even taxed the sale of meats inside the territories, not just exports and imports. Numerous protests ensued, however throughout 1810 they did not become too violent or large. At the start of 1811, however, protests grew in size and strength and continued through 1813, with the Order Guard being deployed across the territories starting in late 1811.

Aftermath

Mechanical Goods Act

The period of peace in the Territories finally broke in 1818, when the Order passed another decree against the territories, being the Mechanical Goods Act, which banned gunpowder and firearm possession in the country, and also heavily taxed all factories in the country. The act sparked another round of protests, from 1818 through 1823. The act, along with the existing enmity from the protests of 1811-1813, was a major factor in prompting the Territorial Assembly to begin work on the Quentinian Declaration of Independence in 1820.